The Premier League is one of the biggest football leagues in the world. It’s watched by over 200 countries around the world and commands a massive global audience as a result.
The clubs are able to attract the biggest players and some of the largest fan bases in world football have been formed on the back of that.
The league is often seen as the most competitive and whilst it could be argued that the quality perhaps isn’t what it once was, the physicality and skill levels are still rivalled by very few. In terms of excitement, the Premier League is often thought of as the pinnacle of the sport, with each team being able to beat the other on any given day.
Like all leagues, the Premier League does have a dominance by a select group of teams, and even though there have been representations from 49 teams, only 6 of these have ever won it, with just 4 teams winning on more than one occasion.
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About the Premier League
The league is now made up of 20 teams that play each other in both home an away fixtures throughout the course of a season running from August to May. Each team plays each other twice, before the winner is crowned at the end of the 38 game season.
Teams will receive 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and no points for a loss. The teams are then ranked in the league depending on the total number of points. If teams are tied on points then it goes down to goal difference, before then being on goals scored, should goal difference be the same.
The top 4 positions in the league will gain entry to the Champions League, with the top 3 gaining automatic entry and the 4th place having to go through a qualifying segment. 5th position gets entry to the Europa League and teams in 6th and 7th position can also qualify for the Europa League depending on the winners of the League Cup and FA Cup, respectively.
The bottom three teams will be relegated from the league and will play the following season in the Championship. The top two teams from the Championship will gain automatic entry to the Premier League, whilst the remaining 4 places will play off to determine the final team to gain entry.
Ante Post Betting
Ante post betting is often the most popular format when it comes to betting on the Premier League. Often you will be placing bets at the start of the season to determine who you think will be going to win and also teams that you think you will be relegated.
The range of markets these days is quite extensive and can include Premier League champions, top four finish, top 6 finish, top half finish and bottom 3 finish. The transfer window is an important time within betting on these markets as it’s when teams will be looking to strengthen their squad. You will need to look at which players team bring in, but also which players leave certain teams.
A good example of how the transfer market will affect betting occurred in 2017. Man United had a fairly poor league campaign in 2016, finishing 6th in the table, but in the off-season managed to recruit a strong team, including the likes of Lukaku from Everton and Matic from Chelsea. The signing of Matic is probably the most important when it comes to betting though, as not only did United strengthen their squad with a quality player, but they took them from their rivals, Chelsea, who in turn were weaker for the loss of the player.
Even though Chelsea won the league in 2016, United actually went off as shorter price to win the following league campaign, simply down to the players that they had recruited and in turn, strengthened their squad.
Top Goalscorer Betting
The ante post markets don’t just include league team bets and one of the most popular is that of the top goalscorer for any given season. The goalscorer market is often hotly contested, with the Premier League having a plethora of world class strikers at their disposal. Usually what you will find is that the big teams often look to strengthen this area of their team more than others, so players who have performed well aboard are often shipped in.
This can make for a bit of a minefield when it comes to this market as whilst the players are likely proven in other leagues, it’s often tough for them to break through in the Premier League. There have been countless big money spending’s that have come in on massive reputations, but ultimately fail to really bang home the goals that were needed.
Out advice would be to look more at proven players who have performed previously in the league. If we stick with the signing of Lukaku from Everton to Man United in 2017, here we have a player who has proven he can score goals in a fairly mediocre team move to a team that are much stronger and will give him more opportunities to score. This is likely going to be a much safer bet than backing someone who little to no Premier League experience.
Group Betting
Outside of the player bets, the league position bets are another good ante post market to choose from. We touched earlier about being able to bet on markets such as top 4, top 6, top half finishes and even relegation. As you are essentially betting on teams to finish within a certain number of places, the odds for these bets will likely be quite a bit lower than simply a team to win the league. But, good value can be found if you know where to look.
The ‘Big 4’ has pretty much disbanded these days, with the emergence of Tottenham and Liverpool, creating a ‘Big 6’. But, these 6 teams are miles ahead of the next strongest group of teams and anyone realistically breaking into this section is going to be slim. Having said that, Premier League winners from 2015/16 Leicester City have pretty much blown up the rule book when it comes to betting, managing to win the league at pre-season odds of 5000/1, proving anything is possible in this crazy game that we love!
The group bets allows for a lot larger room for error and whilst there will be some teams that are very short for these markets, if you can find the team that might break mould or even better, the next Leicester City, then there is definitely still value to be had from this.
Dead Heats
A dead heat is something that is less common in football and more common in sports like golf. But, it’s still important to know that it does occur and what will happen for this, especially in ante post markets.
The easiest market to work with is that of the top goalscorer market. There’s a good chance that come the end of the season there will be 2 or more players who have scored the same number of goals. If this occurs, then dead heat rules will apply. The concept of the rule is pretty simple in that, all you do is divide your original stake by the number of selections involved in the dead heat.
Winning Dead Heat Returns
| No of Winners | Stake | Price | Returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £10 | 9/1 | £100 |
| 2 | £10 | 9/1 | £50 |
| 3 | £10 | 9/1 | £33.33 |
| 4 | £10 | 9/1 | £25 |
| 5 | £10 | 9/1 | £20 |
Let’s run through a real world example, taken from the 2010/11 Premier Lesage where both Carlos Tevez of Manchester City and Dimitar Berbatov of Manchester united both finished the season as top goalscorers with 21 goals a piece. We aren’t actually sure of the original ante post odds for these bets, but let’s say for arguments sake that both players were 9/1 to win top goalscorer at the start of the season.
So, you’ve placed your £10 stake on Tevez and now you find yourself in a dead heat situation with one other player. As there are two players you simply divide your stake by 2, which leaves you at £5. This means your new bet is £5 staked at odds of 9/1, giving you a return of £50, instead of £100 if Tevez would have won outright on his own.
Remember, you simply divide the stake by the number of players involved, but the odds that you took remain the same. Simple!
Previous Premier League Winners
| Year | Winners | Top Goalscorer | No. of Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Manchester City | Harry Kane | 23 |
| 2019-20 | Liverpool | Jamie Vardy | 23 |
| 2018-19 | Manchester City | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Sadio Mané Mohamed Salah |
22 |
| 2017-18 | Manchester City | Mohamed Salah | 32 |
| 2016-17 | Chelsea | Harry Kane | 29 |
| 2015-16 | Leicester City | Harry Kane | 25 |
| 2014-15 | Chelsea | Sergio Aguero | 26 |
| 2013-14 | Manchester City | Luis Suarez | 31 |
| 2012-13 | Manchester United | Robin Van Persie | 26 |
| 2011-12 | Manchester City | Robin Van Persie | 26 |
| 2010-11 | Manchester United | Dimitar Berbatov Carlos Tevez |
21 |
| 2009-10 | Chelsea | Didier Drogba | 29 |
| 2008-09 | Manchester United | Nicolas Anelka | 19 |
History
The Premier was founded in 1992 in an attempt to really grow the English game. The new league format was originally designed to keep up with the ever expanding European leagues in Spain, Italy and Germany and they wanted to really take advantage of the increasing demand for football on TV.
The end of the 1991 season saw the Premier League form and in turn, they were essentially allowed to set up as their own commercial entity, away from the Football League. This would allow them to create their own TV deals and sponsorship deals to drive more money into the league but also into the football league as well.
It was Greg Dyke that was spearheading the proposal for the Premier League and after approaching the ‘Big 5’ teams in the league, he managed to persuaded them to get on board in return for a larger share of the TV money that was then tabled. However, David Dein, the then director of Arsenal got wind of the proposal and highlighted the shortfalls to the Football League who then decided to not back the decision to split due to the fact that money and funds would be unfairly distributed between clubs and forming a massive gulf between the Premier League and the Football League.
In the end, the First Division clubs would eventually have to break away from the Football League in order the make the Premier League a reality. They did this in 1992 which meant it would be the first time in over 100 years that the football league had been broken up and without 4 main leagues.
The start of the 1992 season saw 22 teams compete, 2 more than you see today. The format of the games and the points scoring has remained consistent from then until now. It wasn’t until 1995 where the league was reduced to just 20 teams, where 4 teams were relegated and just 2 teams were promoted.
The 2000’s were the first time that the ‘big 4’ really stated their dominance within the league. These teams included Arsenal, Manchester united, Liverpool and Chelsea. They finished in the top 4 spots on 5 out of the next 6 seasons, taking up their role as Champions League regulars. 2003 was probably the most significant season of this era as Arsenal managed to go the whole season without loosing a game, being dubbed as ‘The Invincibles’ as a result.
It wasn’t until the 2009 season where the Big 4’s dominance started to break, with both Tottenham and Manchester City breaking through. This was the first time that the league started to change in the Big 6 that we know even today. In 2011-12 season, Manchester City were the first team to win the league outside of Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester Untied since 1994-95 season where Blackburn Rovers won the league.
Interesting Facts
- The Premier League has included just two clubs based outside of England in the Cardiff and Swansea.
- 2016 was the first season that the league failed to have a main sponsor since the opening season in 1992-93.
- The Premier League has the highest revenue of any football league in the world.
- Payments of over £2.2billion were paid out to clubs in 2016-17 season.
- A total of 168 matches are now shown live on Sky TV and BT Sport as a result of an improved TV deal set to run until 2019.
- Match of the Day has been showing highlights of the Premier League since 1992 and is still going strong today.
- A global TV audience of 4.7 billion is expected of the Premier League season in 2017-18.
- Parachute payments are granted to teams that are relegated and are worth up to £60 million over the course of 4 years to aid in plugging the gap between Premier League and Championship revenue numbers.
Premier League Blog Posts
- Premier League Games Played Overseas: Why It’s a Case of When, Not If
- Could Premier League Referees Go On Strike – And What Would Happen Next?
- What is Manchester United’s Worst Premier League Finish?
- Is the Number of Goals Scored in the Premier League Increasing?
- Has a Premier League Club Ever Had Points Deducted Before?
- What is the Longest Point-Less Start to a Premier League Season?
- Why Are Premier League Games Taking So Long?
- How Often Do the Favourites Win the Premier League?
- Why are Premier League Games Postponed?
- Which Premier League Players Have Won the Title and Been Relegated with the Same Club?
- How Long Does It Take for a Club Relegated from the Premier League to Return to the Top-Flight?
- How Many Points Do You Need to Stay Up In the Premier League?
- Fortuna Dusseldorf Make Match Tickets Free of Charge: Could It Work in the Premier League?
- What is a Salary Cap in Football and Could It Work in the Premier League?
- How Many Players Have 100 or More Assists in the Premier League?
- What are the Longest Bans Ever Handed Out in the Premier League?
- What is the Highest Number of Sackings in a Premier League Season?
- The History of TV Deals In English Football Since the Start of the Premier League
- Who are the Longest Serving Managers of the Premier League Era?
- Has a Team Ever Gone from Non-League to Premier League?
- Do Teams with 50 Points at Halfway Always Go On to Win the Premier League?
- Is 2022/23 Liverpool's Worst Ever Premier League Season?
- Which Teams Have Never Been Relegated from the Premier League?
- Varcical! Premier League Chiefs Admit 12 VAR Mistakes So Far During 2022/23 Season
- Which Premier League Club Has Sacked the Most Managers?
- Why Doesn’t the Premier League Have an All-Stars Game?
- Which Player Has Scored the Most Premier League Goals in a Single Season?
- The Earliest Premier League Sackings: Which Managers Lasted the Least Time Into the New Season?
- The £2 Billion Season: Summer 2022 the Biggest Spending Transfer Windows In Premier League History
- Premier League and EFL to Clamp Down on Pitch Invasions and Pyrotechnics in Strict New Rules
- How Many Premier League Clubs are Financed by Russian Money?
- Should the Number of Overseas Players in the Premier League Be Capped?
- Should the Premier League Introduce a Salary Cap?
- How Often Does the Team Top of the Premier League at Christmas Win the Title?
- How Does the Premier League Decide Which Games to Postpone?
- Are the Premier League TV Rights the Most Valuable the World?
- Will Safe Standing Be Introduced at Premier League Stadiums for the 2022/23 Season?
- Who is the Best Manager in the Premier League? Pep, Klopp, Ole and Co Rated for Efficiency
- Why are Foreign Investors So Keen to Buy Premier League Clubs?
- Safe Standing at Football Grounds: Premier League to Trial Standing Terraces in 2021/22
- Does Wage Spending Predict Man United Will Win the Premier League in 2021/22?
- Is Watford FC the Most Crypto-Friendly Club in the Premier League?
- Is the Number of Betting Companies That Sponsor Premier League Shirts Increasing?
- The Premier League's Oldest Managers
- What Would a Big Six Only Premier League Look Like?
- Who Would Have Won the Premier League Without the Big Six?
- European Super League: Is This the End of the Premier League? All Your Questions Answered
- Assist to Goal Combinations: Who are the Premier League’s Most Lethal Duo?
- What Have Been the Worst Premier League Title Defences?
- What are the Biggest Defeats in Premier League History?
- Premier League Manager Statistics: From the Longest and Shortest Reigns to the Most and Least Successful
- The Premier League’s Longest Unbeaten Home Runs
- The Closest Premier League Title Races in History: Will 2020/21 Be One of Them?
- Will New Brexit Rules on Signing EU Players Spell the End of Europe's Best Young Talent Playing the Premier League?
- Why Do The Remaining Premier League Games Need to be Played at Neutral Grounds?
- What Happens to Premier League Players Out of Contract on June 30th if the Season Goes On?
- Will Amazon Prime Take Over Premier League TV Rights Permanently?
- The Premier League's Longest Unbeaten Season Starts
- What is the Women's Super League (WSL) and Why does the Premier League Want to Take it Over?
- Premier League Club's Financial State of Play 2017/18: How is Your Team Performing Off the Pitch?
- Closest Title Races in Premier League History: How Do Manchester City & Liverpool in the 2018/19 Season Compare?
- Brexit & Football: Will Leaving the EU Spell the End of the Premier League As We Know It?